Sample Solution

Rouge performers. Today, the females are required to be a minimum height of 5’9 and have ‘A slim graceful figure’ (Moulin Rouge (Site Officiel), 2019, n/a). This does bear similarities to Follies, which is understandable as it is difficult to completely eradicate this kind of objectification. However, it is less popular now, as musical theatre is less focused on presenting sexuality.

Another one of Ziegfeld’s shows was Sally (1920), a musical about a dishwasher who becomes a Follies star. This storyline was not uncommon however, as this kind of ‘rags to riches’ story, also known as ‘Cinderella musicals’, became very popular during the 20s. The typical plotline of these stories would consist of a young, usually poor, working girl, who gains the affection of a handsome millionaire. Although in many cases she also gains a successful career (The New York Public Library, 2018, para.19). This made the implication that women at the time needed a more successful man to make their lives better and to get any kind of career. Therefore, this shows that men were considered the more dominant sex.

An additional problem presented by these storylines becoming so popular is highlighted in this quote, ‘these early and mid-twentieth-century Broadway musicals portrayed heroines torn between feminine domesticity and professional autonomy’ (Cantu, 2015, p.3). It suggests that there is a cost for not conforming to the social constructs of feminine behaviour at the time. Perhaps, this was the beginning of musicals making strong social and political statements in the form of questioning whether women should have more independence.

However, one reason why ‘Cinderella musicals’ were so appreciated at the time may have been that female audiences were able to see the beginnings of the concept of women achieving